Transcript May 8, 2012 - Plummer Pumas Science

May 8, 2012
Warm Up
1. Take out journal
2. Study notes over space
3. Take out half sheet of paper
for daily quiz
Daily Quiz 5-8-12
• 1. Our solar system is made up of 8
_____.
• 2. The only planet in our solar system that
can support life is ______________.
• 3. Life on Earth would not exist without the
Earth’s a_____________________.
• 4. The Earth’s atmosphere is a mixture of
g___________.
• 5. The ________ layer filters and reduces
the sun’s harmful rays.
In the story “Goldilocks and the
three bears” Goldilock talks about
things being just right. How does
this relate to life in space? Explain.
• Discussion:
• http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-atnasa/2003/02oct_goldilocks/
Exploration
A.
Consider the information given in the
table below and answer the following
questions.
Bowl
Name:
PAPA
BEAR
MAMA
BEAR
BABY
BEAR
Bowl
Temp:
85ºC
20ºC
52ºC
Bowl
Diameter:
20 cm
13 cm
4 cm
Bowl
Color:
Electric
Blue
Red
Yellow
i. Whose bowl of porridge did Goldilocks choose?
ii. What characteristic about the porridge did
Goldilocks use to decide which bowl was “just
right”?
Exploration
B. Consider the information given in the
table below and answer the following
questions.
Chair
Name:
PAPA
BEAR
MAMA
BEAR
BABY
BEAR
Chair
Temp:
22ºC
22ºC
22ºC
Chair
Height:
40 cm
33 cm
20 cm
Chair
Material:
Metal
Wood
Plastic
i. Which chair did Goldilocks choose?
ii. What characteristic about the chair did Goldilocks
use to decide which bowl was “just right”?
Exploration
C. Consider the information given in the
table below and answer the following
questions.
Bed Name: PAPA
BEAR
MAMA
BEAR
BABY
BEAR
Bed Temp: 22ºC
22ºC
22ºC
Bed
Height;
15 cm
15 cm
15 cm
Bed
Stiffness:
Hard
Soft
Medium
i. Which bed did Goldilocks choose?
ii. What characteristic about the beds did Goldilocks
use to decide which bowl was “just right”?
Why is lots of life on Earth?
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Name _________________________________________ Date __________________ Period ________
Activity #2 Why Is There Abundant Life On Earth?
Examine the information provided in the table below and answer the following questions.
Planet Name: VenusEarthMarsPlanet Mass (MEarth):0.8 MEarth1 MEarth0.1 MEarthPlanet Radius(REarth)0.95
REarth1 REarth0.5 REarthDistance from Sun(DEarth) .7 DEarth1 DEarth1.5 DEarthAverage surface
Temperature:456oc10oc-95ocAtmosphere
Thick
Medium
Very Thin
Note: 0.8MEarth means that the planet has a mass that is 80% the mass of Earth.
A. Which of the characteristics listed in the table allow life to flourish on Earth but not Venus and Mars? Explain your
reasoning.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
B. Describe how the characteristics identified in part A would change if the following changes were made.
The Earth was moved closer to the Sun.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
The Earth was moved farther from the Sun.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
The Sun’s temperature was much hotter and it was much larger.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
The Sun’s temperature was much cooler and it was much smaller.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
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__________________________________________________
Defining the Habitable Zone
The planets in our Solar System orbit the Sun at
very different distances. Scientists have
developed a system for describing distances in
our Solar System based on the average distance
between the Earth and the Sun. The
Astronomical Unit (AU) is approximately
149,570,000 kilometers (the average Sun-Earth
distance). The distances between objects in our
Solar System are measured using the AU as the
common unit of distance. The table below
provides the planet’s name and average orbital
distance to the Sun.
Convert the
distances from
km to AU for
each of the
planets in our
Solar System.
Planet Name
Dist. To Sun in
km
Dist. To Sun
in AU
Mercury
57,950,000 km
0.39 AU
Venus
108,110,000 km
0.72 AU
Earth
149,570,000 km
1 AU
Mars
227,840,000 km
1.5 AU
Jupiter
778,140,000 km
5.2 AU
Saturn
1,427,000,000 km
9.5 AU
Uranus
2,870,300,000 km
19.1 AU
Neptune
4,499,900,000 km
30 AU
Pluto
5,913,000,000 km
39.5 AU
Defining the Habitable Zone
The presence of liquid water at the surface of a
planet appears to be one of the central
characteristic that distinguishes whether or not a
planet can harbor life. This requires that the
planet be at a distance from the central star
where the temperature is not too low to cause all
water to freeze nor too high to cause all water to
boil. The region around a star where the
temperature is “just right” is known as the “zone
of habitability.” For a star like our Sun the zone
of habitability has been identified as between .84
AU and 1.7 AU. The next slides show you
where the zone of habitability is in the Solar
System.
Zone of Habitability
Defining the Habitable Zone
Discussion Questions
1)
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3)
Which of the planets in our Solar System
may have the potential for liquid water on
the surface. Explain how you can tell.
Is the Moon in the zone of habitability?
Does the Moon have liquid water on the
surface? Why, or why not?
Describe how the location of the zone of
habitability would change it the central
star’s temperature was to increase.
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Activity #4 The Sun Is A Star?
Obtain a set of “Star Cards” from your teacher. Examine each star card and using the information provided sort, the stars by
their distance from the Earth, from largest to smallest.
Does the star’s temperature appear to depend on the distance from the Earth?
______________________________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________________________
______
Compare the color of the star to its temperature. Compare the spectral class of the star to its temperature. Do the color or
spectral class of the star appear to be related to the star's temperature?
______________________________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________________________
______
Sort your star cards by temperature, from coolest to hottest.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________
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E.
Consider the four characteristics (1) Temperature, (2) color, (3) distance, and (4) class or spectral type. Which
characteristics most strongly influence the size and location of the habitable zone? Explain your reasoning for each.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________________________
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F.
If we are looking for Earth-like life elsewhere in the universe, which of the stars described on the star cards would you
explore first? What spectral classes did you choose? Explain the reasoning behind your choices.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________
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______________________________________________________________________________________________________
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Scientists believe that life as we know it is most likely to exist around stars most like our Sun, in the F, G and K classes. Size,
temperature and light appear to be important factors in identifying these stars.
How would the zone of habitability be different around an "F" star, or a "K" star as compared to the Sun? Explain your
reasoning.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________
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______________________________________________________________________________________________________
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Exit Questions to Ponder…
• 1) What are some
characteristics of our solar
system which allow life to
exist?
• 2) Which planets can support
life? Why?